2014 went down in history as the Nobel peace prize fraternity marked a new dawn by awarding Its most prestigious award to the youngest winner in history. Malala Yousafzai at 17 years bagged this award after recognition of her concerted efforts towards equal education rights and opportunities for girls and women in Pakistan. Her story on her triumphant fight has been published on paper back with millions of copies sold, while proceeds from the sales going back to charitable organizations advocating for the same rights. The big screen players had a share of this great story while choosing to reenact he story into a documentary that recorded over 2.6million dollars in sales.
Her fight for equal education for girls caused struggle and trouble in her life from an early age. At the time she received her award, she was only 12 years old, however; She continues to fight for the proper education of girls in Pakistan and in other countries that suppress women’s freedom. Her Peace Prize Award didn’t end her women’s right activism, but only fueled and helped engage others in advocating for the education of women and children in the Middle East.
Her story reads like that of a fictional movie far from reality. However; as one gets engrossed in the magnitude of the weight in narration throughout the pages, one cannot help but admire the hope in her despite the adversity surrounding her. Today, at almost 18 years of age, Miss. Yousafzai has accomplished more than any ordinary 18-year-old would ever hope to achieve. She was born in 1997 in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan, which was once known as a vacation destination that hosted many travelers because of its excellent summer festivals. This, however, ended when the Taliban took over the Valley. They began imposing strict Islamic law, while shutting down girls’ schools, and banned women from any active role in society (Brown, 2013).
Malala attended school in her home city before the Taliban took over. Her father, in my opinion was the bravest man alive as he chose to break away from tradition by starting the Khushal private school, to fight against gender discrimination in Pakistan. He always supported her desire for an equal opportunity in education. Throughout her young life, Malala’s father encouraged her to follow in his path, and that is what she did. However, unlike her father, she was a female who did not stand a chance in the eyes of society. Once the Taliban invaded, she no longer held the rights and social status in society as she once did.
In 2008, at only 11 years old, Malala delivered her first speech with her father by her side. Her father took her to a local press club in Peshawar, where she participated in an engaging narration dubbed “how dare you take away my basic right to education?” (Newman, 2014). This marked the beginning for Malala and her role as an activist championing for women rights in education.
In 2009, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) approached Malala’s father with the hope that he would let Malala blog about the Taliban take over while hiding her identity, under the name of Gul Makai. Malala wrote regular entries for the BBC Urdu about living under the Taliban regime. At the same time, the Taliban shut down all girls’ schools in the Swat Valley and blew up more than 100 of them (Husain, 2013). In 2009, Malala made her first appearance on television as a guest on the show, Capital Talk with journalist, Hamid Mir, about the importance of education for girls and how the Taliban was taking away their “basic rights.” From here her voice began to be heard around the world. Reporter Adam Ellick of the New York Times worked with Malala to make a documentary, Class Dismissed, which she spoke out about the closing of schools due to the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai’s continued her work on bringing peace to the troubled Middle East and focused on the female population receiving proper education. Her activism was first awarded in 2011 when she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize and that same year, she was awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize.
Unfortunately, her life of achievement came crashing down on October 9, 2012. While heading home from school, a Taliban gunman shot her in the head.
The attack on her life did not deter her from achieving peace in and around her home country. After being flown out to Birmingham, England for surgery, she used this incident to refuel her passion and now more than ever, she dared to fight even harder, against and speak out about the need for peace and education in what had once been a beautiful country. The New York Times wrote, “[after] armed Taliban men boarded Malala’s bus and shot her in the head, [she was transformed] from a minor Internet celebrity into an international symbol” (Alter, 2014).
Although hard to believe, there was good that did come from the attack that she endured. After hearing of her story on the news about the attack on her life, the world became outraged. The incident caused protests against the Taliban to begin internationally. Her cause was being taken up but people who had just days before not known about the amazing work she did or even of her existence. Specifically, activists for education and businessmen came together to help Malala and her family in their own ways.
Gordon Brown, the UN special envoy for global education, introduced a petition that called for “all children around the world to be back in school by 2015” (Alter, 2014)). Brown’s petition led to the ratification of Pakistan’s first Right to Education bill. Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani President, launched a $10 million education fund in Malala Yousafzai’s honor. At almost the same time, the Vital Voices Global Partnership created the Malala fund to support education for girls around the world (Husain, 2014).
Moreover, her family stayed by her side as she recovered in Birmingham, England, and decided to remain living there as refugees. Malala continued with her education in England, and without hesitation, quickly went back to being an advocate for change in the limited education for girls. On her sixteenth birthday, in 2013, she spoke out in public for the first time since the attack on her life at the United Nations in New York City. That same year she was awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize, was named one of Time magazine’s most-influential people, and appeared on one of the seven covers that were printed for that issue of the Times, and coauthored a memoir on her life, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, with Christina Lamb.
The next year the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia awarded her with the Liberty Medal, and she became the youngest person to ever win. After being nominated in 2013, Malala Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in all history . By 2015, the documentary He Named Me Malala was shown in theaters all around the world. The documentary documented her life before and after she endured the attack and the history of her activism for education for girls and women (Nobel Prize, 2014) (Alter, 2014) (Glyde, 2015).
Although Malala was not born in the United States nor resides here, she has spoken and visited many states, while receiving honorary awards and praise for her advocacy for young girls at her tender age. As an advocate for change to the current education systems around the world, her aims to reform the education system have influenced not only India and the Middle East, but the United States and other nations world-wide. Her push for equality and an equal opportunity for an education is something everyone can get behind (Brown, 2013). The United States of America may have a strong education system, but there is room for change. A good portion of the American population are illiterate even after attending school, and others never finish because learning disabilities were never noted. Change is in our hands. Likewise, the treatment towards women and girls, a lot has been done to create a level playing field for men and women; however, there is still a wage gap, glass-ceiling, and many other inconsistencies between genders and sexualities that are in need of change. By following Malala’s lead and her passion for advocacy, we can team up and band together to create America the way it was always meant to be.
From a young age, Malala Yousafzai acted as a social worker without even knowing it. She fought her entire life for the equal opportunity of boys and girls in education. She stood up against the powerful Taliban regime just so children and women like her could have the opportunity for an education, which of which could be earned just a few countries over without any challenge. There are four main roles of a social worker: an enabler, broker, advocate, and mediator. Through reading her biographies and examining her past and present activism around the world, she has a strong desire to be of help to the social community, even though she is not allowed to go to school or be out without her hijab on in her home country. Malala stands as a primary example of what social workers should aim to become in communities, both in and out of the workplace.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “The only things certain in life are death and taxes. Each day we need to live for what we want to be remembered for, because tomorrow is not certain. Reading through this book, painted a worldview that shows the interplays between a culturally sound community whose belief systems are bent on ensuring the female gender remain the weaker sex, versus a postmodern world that loudly speaks of gender equality. It is truly impossible to believe that “Malala’s world” is a prime reality to some just like “the future is female” truly is to yet another. To think that both worlds are existent in common time and space is unimaginable. Sire (2015) “The basic role of a worldview is to present the relationship of the human mind to the riddle of the world and life.” (p.25).Malala’s story is truly one that resonates with Sire’s remarks. She had to see beyond her surroundings by focusing on her mind’s e We truly have to come to a place where we strive on living out our three B’s by Believing we can conquer our mountains, Beginning the journey towards this path and eventually Becoming all that we ever envisioned.
